TEACH successfully launches culturally appropriate training for providers serving francophones

CAMH’s TEACH Project for Francophones (Projet TEACH pour les francophones) recently offered its inaugural session of courses for service providers who work with French-speaking clients, a population with higher smoking rates which needs a targeted approach.

Projet TEACH offered two courses in October 2008, training 38 professionals from across the province in this successful first offering of culturally-adapted smoking cessation counselling. Up to now the training had only been available in English.

Jean-François Crépault (left), Coordinator of the TEACH Project, which recently offered its first culturally-adapted courses for francophone service providers. Dr. Marilyn Herie (centre) is TEACH Project Director and Antoine Dérose, Program Consultant, CAMH Provincial Services, works extensively with francophone populations.

In addition to the adapted Core Course, a newly-designed Specialty Course delves into cultural issues and obstacles surrounding tobacco use among Ontario’s diverse ethnocultural francophone groups. It also explores best practices in tobacco cessation interventions with these groups.

The six faculty members – Gilles Brideau, Dr. Chris Courbasson, Dr. Bernard Le Foll, Anne Meloche, Claude Isofa Nkanga Bokembya, and Michael Perley – are experts in their field and are themselves representative of Ontario Francophones’ ethnocultural and geographic diversity.

Projet TEACH reflects the need for cultural competence in smoking cessation treatment, especially among linguistic minorities, who may face barriers to treatment. Seven per cent of Ontarians are francophone, and smoking is substantially higher among this group even when accounting for socio-economic status and education, according to TEACH coordinator Jean-François Crépault.

“Whether their mother tongue is Arabic, or Swahili, or Creole, French is the language of access for all the immigrant groups we need to serve.”

Antoine Dérose, Program Consultant, PEHP-CCE Provincial Services.

“As far as we know there isn’t a program offered like this anywhere.”

Jean-François Crépault, TEACH coordinator

“Programs and interventions for French-speaking communities need to take their unique needs into account in order to be effective,” says Jean-François.

“As far as we know there isn’t a program offered like this anywhere.”

Projet TEACH pour les francophones is a collaboration between CAMH and Health Canada. Both English and French versions are accredited by the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine as well as other professional organizations.

It was established in response to the overwhelming need expressed by all francophone groups in Ontario, regardless of national or ethno-cultural origin, for health services in French to reach out to the relatively high percentage of smokers in their communities.

“Whether their mother tongue is Arabic, or Swahili, or Creole, French is the language of access for all the immigrant groups we need to serve,” says Antoine Dérose, Program Consultant for PEHP-CCE.

“This program means that clients looking for help with smoking cessation will be able to communicate directly with the clinician without having to go through a translator. This not only saves time, but also makes sure that the client and clinician understand each other perfectly.”